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For two and a half thousand years, cities and politicians have grown together. The city gives politicians a platform, a stage – and a demanding public. Always economic powerhouses, our cities also hold the key to an urban future where city-states like Singapore rise in prominence.

We talk to Sydney City Councillor Jess Scully about how best to grow a ‘world city’ like Sydney over the next billion seconds – and what it means to have a political career in a time when every citizen has social media to amplify their voice, their beliefs – and their anger.

The future is here – and it’s local. In this clip, Jess talks about the importance of Sydney to Australia’s economy:

When you give cows a voice, who listens? Connected lights and thermostats are great, but what happens when cows get connected and start milking themselves? What do we learn when we track our house cats when they’re not at home? How does the connected world reveal itself to us – and what are we learning from it? These questions – about autonomy, agency and authority – form the focus of anthropologist Genevieve Bell’s work, less for what they reveal about these animals than what they illuminate about ourselves. Are we listening to the connected world?

Dr. Andy Polaine helps companies design “living services”, the sorts of things that all of us interact with every day on our screens, through our smartphone apps, and behind the scenes. Should we trust those services? Andy offers some suggestions on how we can take a look ‘under the bonnet’ of the connected world.

The Next Billion Seconds

We live in a world where every day brings dramatic changes. The world is growing smarter – not just us, but everything we touch. That’s changing what we can do – and it’s changing the shape of the future.

The coming ‘next billion seconds’ are the most important in human history, as technology transforms the way we live and work. We talk to some of the brightest minds shaping our world, charting our path as we voyage into an incredible future.